'It was impossible.
Well.
Don’t let that stop you, O. B. had said.'
I kind of love this fic.
I mean... obviously, because I'm rec'ing, and, also obviously, I tend to say that a lot. But... yeah.
Dora Reads is the book blog of a Bookish Rebel, supporting the Diversity Movement, bringing you Queer views and mental health advocacy, slipping in a lot of non-bookish content, and spreading reading to the goddamn world! :) (All posts may contain Amazon links, which are affiliate, unless marked otherwise. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. USA ONLY - please do not make UK purchases with my links)
'It was impossible.
Well.
Don’t let that stop you, O. B. had said.'
I kind of love this fic.
I mean... obviously, because I'm rec'ing, and, also obviously, I tend to say that a lot. But... yeah.
'Diego throws the knife with a grunt of frustration. It lands perfectly positioned in the wall.
“Good job,” Luther says dryly. “You killed the wallpaper.”'
One of the extremely few issues I have with The Umbrella Academy (TUA) is that the Hargreeves siblings are so emotionally constipated that we never get to bathe in the angst with them.
Like - I'm talking 'Gerard Way in the video for Ghost of You' style angst-bathing. We don't get much of that, and my emo goblin spaghetti brain would very much like that. *nods sagely*
'At first he couldn't hear the voice, he couldn't hear anything. But gradually he became aware of it, coming and going in bursts. He tried to grasp it, hold on to it, but it kept slipping away.
"Bucky? Can you hear me? Can you breathe for me?"'
When there's gaps in the canon, what's fanfic to do but to, y'know, step in...?
Like, when Avengers: Endgame leaves everyone in a nebulous situation, and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (TFATWS) picks up after all the messy logistical stuff has already been dealt with and the brainwashed supersoldier assassin has already been pardoned.
...None of this is spoiler-y, since you can pretty much assume this from the trailer for TFATWS. #Don'tComeForMe
(Fandom notes:
Canon is the 'official' stuff in the book/film/whatever.)
And 2023 is OUT OF HERE!!!!
And thank whoever's listening for that.
Because, in case you weren't aware, my 2023 effing sucked.
“Find the front door,” Bucky snapped when Sam’s eyes went to the window again. He smashed someone’s head down on the banister with enough force to crack either bone or wood. “I’m not jumping through glass.”
So, we're talking The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (TFATWS) again today... well, kind of.
Strictly speaking we're talking the nebulous period between Winter Soldier and Civil War where Sam was looking for Bucky on Steve's behalf, and Bucky was happily living his post-Hydra best life - as in, the one where he got to buy plums in goddamn peace!
...But it's got a TFATWS vibe, and both lead characters, so that's what we're calling it.
You know I love, love, love it when fic authors get creative!
Isn't there something just so beautiful about taking that source material and just running with it?! Like it's not bound by the confines of the material that created it? Like it has a life and an essence that goes beyond one single medium?
Living art, dearest nerdlets. Living art.
So this week I have 4 fics for you where the fic author has gotten impressively creative!
As always with my fic-rec lists, please check the original rec'ing post - which will be linked - for Content Warnings and spoiler status.
'“You told me not to lie,” Klaus snaps at him, wiggling his fingers in Ben’s direction. “Zip it, Casper.”'
I haven't rec'd a The Umbrella Academy (TUA) fic in a while.
Aside from rec-lists, I haven't rec'd TUA since September.
...That's probably a record for me.
'It’s just that Bucky has spent his entire life trying to fulfill obligations — for the war, for Steve, for HYDRA — and now that he feels like he can make his own choices, he doesn’t know what to do.'
Bucky's bored.
He's really bored. Like - he needs hobbies. Badly. Preferrably ones with minimal interactions with people because are so... people-y.
Same, Bucky. Same. People are too people-y.
'Knock, knock, knock on the door. Three times, not four, and the door isn’t blue. It’s red, glittering in baubles of sunlight cast over its fresh coat of paint. The Doctor is safe.'
So far, I'm loving the way Dr Who is headed with Russell T. Davies back at the helm.
Side-note: Welsh people (which Russell T Davies is,) say Dave-iss, not Daveys. Please, for the love of God, respect that. (And check out this Legends of Tomorrow clip for pronounciation, complete with accent.)
Also, Welsh people with common surnames will use middle initials or names to distinguish themselves from other people with the same name. Don't miss out the initials/names when talking about them, please and thank you.
'"What's the matter, Cap?" Tony replied absentmindedly, an arm wrapped firmly around the god's torso to steady him. "Never been to a frat party?"'
Let's start this year how we mean to continue - with some angsty FrostIron! 😅
...No-one can say I'm inconsistent, tbh.
(Fandom notes:
FrostIron is a romantic and/or sexual relationship between Marvel's Loki and Iron Man Tony Stark. It works and I will go down with this ship.
Ship is a relationship - geddit?)
Since F3 is going on its regular break in December, I thought that now was a great time to give you my stand-out fics of the year!
- That's not the same as the best fics of the year.
It's more... the ones I can still remember when stressed and tired at the end of November 😅 (Expect a lot from the last few months, ngl.)
Remember to please check out the orginal rec'ing posts for Content Warnings and SPOILER status.
I'll leave the link to those original rec. posts when I finish up talking about each fic.
'O.B’s fingers freeze. He’s quiet for a moment, before moving to turn off his device. He turns to face Mobius.'
The end of series 2 of Loki was stunningly beautiful - and so is some of the fanfiction that's been inspired by it.
Yes, no sooner was the streaming streamed than the fandom picked up pen and pixel and set out to process, explore, enjoy, revel in, congratulate, commiserate, and everything in between.
Living art, right there.
I love novel-length fanfiction.
I am forever in awe of the dedication you have to show to something to write a full novel-length fanfic (especially if you're not planning on changing the names and selling it as an original novel like E. L. James 😅)
I gave a list (which you can see here,) about a year ago, of 5 of my favourite novel-length fanfics - and I figured it's time for another one! (Because I read a truly horrifying amount of fanfiction, lol.)
Remember to please check out the orginal rec'ing posts for Content Warnings and SPOILER status.
Some of these fics deal with difficult topics, so def. check the CWs!
I'll leave the link to those original rec. posts when I finish up talking about each fic.
'Crowley was out doing... something -- Muriel did not know whether he was actually gluing coins to the ground or whether that was an obscure joke.'
I love Good Omens - which, in a nutshell, is a TV series on Amazon Prime where an Angel and a Demon get up to shenanigans to a soundtrack of Queen music.
...They're also possibly in full M/M love with each other. They have this whole will-they/won't-they/are-they-already-and-just-don't-know-it, thing going on. Canonically.
(Fandom notes:
Canon is the 'official' stuff that happens in the book/film/whatever)
'Tony froze and leaned back to study Bucky's face. He didn't seem to be exaggerating. Tony felt something dark and cold settle in his chest. He cradled Bucky's face with gentle hands, but his voice was hard as iron when he asked, "Honey, is there someone I need to take care of?"'
This week's fic is random af.
...I'd go as far as to say it's bordering on crack - don't get me wrong, it's not crack. But if you stand on your tippy-toes and look over the fence, you can probably see crack from here.
(Fandom notes:
Crack fics are the most random, surreal, and bizarre of fics. They are cracked (to give it the non-drug-related definition.)
Think terminally online meets Alice in Wonderland, or else the Sasquatch sequence in Tenacious D's The Pick of Destiny, and you're more-or-less there.)
Who doesn't love a ghost story?
...Don't answer that! 😅 I know they're not to everyone's taste.
But I love 'em - and there are some pretty awesome fanfic ghost stories out there (both spooky and not-so-spooky,) so I figured I'd remind you of a few of my faves
I was originally not planning on making this a specifically LGBTQ+ list, but this is fanfiction...
...so it turned out literally 100% of the fics I picked were LGBTQ+ in some capacity! Woo! Lol. 😅
As always with these rec-lists, check out the original rec'ing post for my full list of Content Warnings.
...Also check the rec posts for SPOILER status for the fics, m'k?
'His captain just looked sad, like he'd failed Izzy in some way.'
OH MY GOD THIS FIC!!!!
krhguergjopwrgm';¬!
...sorry, had to fangirl over the page a bit there. This fic is so good.
Like - page-turning, stayed up an extra hour to read some more, good.